A Distant Memory
by ThePhoenixLament
Summary: Even seasons later, living in ThunderClan at the lake, Graystripe is torn between his current mate and his first love. I believe this is/could be a missing part of the Warriors books. Shall I continue/update or leave as a one-shot?


Wind blew towards the gray tomcat, and his long fur lifted in the breeze. He was standing on top of a green hill, and he felt wonderful. He looked down at his large paws and felt as if he could fly.

"Graystripe!" called the sweetest sound Graystripe could ever hear. He breathed out slowly through his mouth.

_Silverstream_.

Graystripe flexed his muscles and leaped with his powerful hind legs down the slope of the hill. From the trees came a beautiful silver tabby, her eyes the color of a rushing river. Twinkling stars outlined her coat, reminding Graystripe that his beloved was a member of StarClan.

"I thought you weren't going to come," Silverstream meowed. She leaned forward and rubbed her defined head under Graystripe's, purring loudly.

"I will always come," Graystripe reassured her, licking her face gently. "I love you."

Silverstream looked up at him with her large eyes and flicked her ears. "I love you too." Then she swayed her tail from side to side. "Come on, Graystripe, we don't have much time. The StarClan elders will have my head if I'm still meeting you in your dreams."

"All right, all right," Graystripe agreed. Silverstream waggled her hips and ran off, beginning a chase.

Graystripe purred with laughter. He ran after her, his stronger legs catching up soon. Once he reached her, Silverstream was leaning over a brook and drinking. The silver she-cat flicked her ears once, indicating that she knew he was there.

Graystripe didn't stop running until he reached her and nearly fell into the brook. He watched Silverstream's chest rumble with amusement. He playfully pounced on her, knocking them both to the ground. They laughed together, legs touched and noses rubbing together.

At moments like these, Graystripe always felt pure bliss, but there was still the little echo of guilt. Right now, his sleeping body was curled up with Millie, and she was probably rubbing her head into his neck. Millie completely understood how Graystripe would always love Silverstream, but she trusted him. And he was betraying her by meeting with Silverstream secretly.

"Is something wrong?" Silverstream's happy expression quickly became worried.

"No, no," Graystripe insisted, "it's nothing. I just…" he trailed off and finished his sentence with a look.

Silverstream's blue eyes filled with knowledge. "Oh… this is about _her._" She looked into the swirling water of the brook and sighed. "It's always going to be like this, isn't it? I can't have you to myself."

Graystripe's heart filled with regret. "Silverstream, I'm sorry. But that's not fair. You told me to move on. But I love you both."

Silverstream sat up and licked the grass out of her fur. "You love her more."

"Silverstream," Graystripe pleaded. "You're my first love. You always will be."

Silverstream looked at Graystripe, and he was alarmed to see that her eyes were full of pain. "Why did StarClan take me so young?" she asked. "It's made everything so complicated. It's so unfair what I'm doing to you. I'm tearing you between two she-cats."

"Silverstream, I'm okay. Really. Don't worry about it." Graystripe rubbed his head briefly on Silverstream's flank.

Silverstream stepped away from him. Graystripe felt his dream turning into a nightmare as mist clouded around the two cats.

"I didn't want to have to do this," Silverstream sighed and shuffled her paws. "Graystripe, it's only healthy for you to choose between Millie and I. It's tearing us apart and it's going to affect your relationship with Millie as well. Who will it be?"

Graystripe stared at Silverstream in disbelief, but she held her blue eyes on his yellows ones until he looked away. How could she expect him to choose between the two most important cats in his life? What was he supposed to do? Silverstream had been his when they were young; she was everything and he would never forget what she meant to him. But Millie had supported him and been there for him in the hardest point in his entire life. He would not be in ThunderClan, at the lake, if it had not been for her.

Graystripe breathed slowly and looked at Silverstream again. He shuffled uncomfortably and looked at Silverstream with sureness. He knew who he had to choose.

"I'm sorry, Silverstream," Graystripe meowed. He paused, and Silverstream's mouth opened in shock. He had the perfect solution.

But Silverstream misunderstood him. "I knew it," she whispered. "You need her more than you need me." Her blue eyes grew cloudy and she turned around, walking into the fog. The sight of her silver coat walking into the white mist soon vanished into a distant memory. Graystripe realized that she should have become that a long time ago.


End file.
